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#1
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I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE.....
From the NY Times letters to the editor..
To The Editor: " I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America and to the principles for which it stands, one nation under law, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." Arthur Kramer 344th BG 494th BS England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany Visit my WW II B-26 website at: http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer |
#2
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ArtKramr wrote:
From the NY Times letters to the editor.. To The Editor: " I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America and to the principles for which it stands, one nation under law, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." Not bad. I still prefer the Pledge of Allegiance without the 1954 additions, though. The 1911 additions were merely for clarification, but the 1954 addition was a crass political move. -Marc (In case anyone's wondering, the original pledge was merely "I pledge allegiance to the Flag and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." The phrase "of the United States of America" was added in 1911.) -- Marc Reeve actual email address after removal of 4s & spaces is c4m4r4a4m4a4n a4t c4r4u4z4i4o d4o4t c4o4m |
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Marc Reeve wrote:
ArtKramr wrote: From the NY Times letters to the editor.. To The Editor: " I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America and to the principles for which it stands, one nation under law, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." Not bad. I still prefer the Pledge of Allegiance without the 1954 additions, though. The 1911 additions were merely for clarification, but the 1954 addition was a crass political move. In addition to losing the "under god," (before I finally abandoned saying the pledge in the 7th grade as amounting to worship of an icon, as well as an essentially meaningless but nevertheless coercive "loyalty oath," at least as practiced in school), I tended to substitute "seeking liberty" for "with liberty", as it more accurately reflected the ideal while acknowledging the reality. But I rather like the letters to the editors version, with that one change. I'd stick commas after "Constitution" and "America," to make it easier to say (more pauses for breath). And I've never been all that happy about "indivisible"; It kind of denies the whole idea of the Declaration of Independence. More importantly, we need to reduce the frequency of usage of the Pledge and the national anthem. Constant repetition in purely routine and even trivial circumstances cheapens them. Of course, I've also long thought that the "Star-Spangled Banner" should be replaced by "America the Beautiful," as the latter is both a better song and singable by other than opera stars, although it would obviously need some replacement lyrics for "God shed his grace on Thee" and some modern PC changes. As in the case of the SSB, most people only know the first verse. Here's the whole thing: America the Beautiful - 1913 O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties Above the fruited plain! America! America! God shed his grace on thee And crown thy good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea! O beautiful for pilgrim feet Whose stern, impassioned stress A thoroughfare for freedom beat Across the wilderness! America! America! God mend thine every flaw, Confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy liberty in law! O beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife. Who more than self the country loved And mercy more than life! America! America! May God thy gold refine Till all success be nobleness And every gain divine! O beautiful for patriot dream That sees beyond the years Thine alabaster cities gleam Undimmed by human tears! America! America! God shed his grace on thee And crown thy good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea! O beautiful for halcyon skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties Above the enameled plain! America! America! God shed his grace on thee Till souls wax fair as earth and air And music-hearted sea! O beautiful for pilgrims feet, Whose stern impassioned stress A thoroughfare for freedom beat Across the wilderness! America ! America ! God shed his grace on thee Till paths be wrought through wilds of thought By pilgrim foot and knee! O beautiful for glory-tale Of liberating strife When once and twice, for man's avail Men lavished precious life ! America! America! God shed his grace on thee Till selfish gain no longer stain The banner of the free! O beautiful for patriot dream That sees beyond the years Thine alabaster cities gleam Undimmed by human tears! America! America! God shed his grace on thee Till nobler men keep once again Thy whiter jubilee! Guy |
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More importantly, we need to reduce the frequency of usage of the Pledge and
the national anthem. Constant repetition in purely routine and even trivial circumstances cheapens them. One of the worst feelings concerning the flag that I have had was when I saw a Cub Scout troop erode the practice of saying the pledge to little more than a joke. They used my flag, I taught them how to fold it, etc., but after a year or so, the pack leader said we could 'forego the usual ceremony' which he reduced to a quick pledge, while he held one of those ridiculous little hand-sized flags (3"x5" on a tiny stick). To him, it made more sense than "dragging out the big flag every time". I felt more than a little disgusted that this former Eagle Scout thought we were wasting time teaching the basics of respecting the symbol of our nation. v/r Gordon ====(A+C==== USN SAR Aircrew "Got anything on your radar, SENSO?" "Nothing but my forehead, sir." |
#6
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"Gordon" wrote in message
... More importantly, we need to reduce the frequency of usage of the Pledge and the national anthem. Constant repetition in purely routine and even trivial circumstances cheapens them. One of the worst feelings concerning the flag that I have had was when I saw a Cub Scout troop erode the practice of saying the pledge to little more than a joke. They used my flag, I taught them how to fold it, etc., but after a year or so, the pack leader said we could 'forego the usual ceremony' which he reduced to a quick pledge, while he held one of those ridiculous little hand-sized flags (3"x5" on a tiny stick). To him, it made more sense than "dragging out the big flag every time". I felt more than a little disgusted that this former Eagle Scout thought we were wasting time teaching the basics of respecting the symbol of our nation. With all respect Gordon, this sort of 'respecting the symbol of our nation' is probably very hard for most Europeans to understand. Particularly this one, to whom the UK flag is a symbol of an Empire whose great days are behind it, the EU one a symbol of a dream whose time has not yet come, and the Saltire a symbol of a nation which sold itself out, or was sold out, a very long time ago. Just one of the factors which makes it hard for us to understand each other from the different sides of the Atlantic. John |
#7
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John Mullen wrote: "Gordon" wrote in message ... More importantly, we need to reduce the frequency of usage of the Pledge and the national anthem. Constant repetition in purely routine and even trivial circumstances cheapens them. One of the worst feelings concerning the flag that I have had was when I saw a Cub Scout troop erode the practice of saying the pledge to little more than a joke. They used my flag, I taught them how to fold it, etc., but after a year or so, the pack leader said we could 'forego the usual ceremony' which he reduced to a quick pledge, while he held one of those ridiculous little hand-sized flags (3"x5" on a tiny stick). To him, it made more sense than "dragging out the big flag every time". I felt more than a little disgusted that this former Eagle Scout thought we were wasting time teaching the basics of respecting the symbol of our nation. With all respect Gordon, this sort of 'respecting the symbol of our nation' is probably very hard for most Europeans to understand. Particularly this one, to whom the UK flag is a symbol of an Empire whose great days are behind it, the EU one a symbol of a dream whose time has not yet come, and the Saltire a symbol of a nation which sold itself out, or was sold out, a very long time ago. Just one of the factors which makes it hard for us to understand each other from the different sides of the Atlantic. John Depending on venue, most people think the last line of the National Anthem is either "Play Ball!" or "Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!" ( Definite RAM content for this one, considering the obligatory flyovers) Bob McKellar |
#8
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"John Mullen" wrote:
[snip] With all respect Gordon, this sort of 'respecting the symbol of our nation' is probably very hard for most Europeans to understand. Particularly this one, to whom the UK flag is a symbol of an Empire whose great days are behind it, the EU one a symbol of a dream whose time has not yet come, and the Saltire a symbol of a nation which sold itself out, or was sold out, a very long time ago. A very telling statement, to be sure. You also summed it nicely when you wrote in the "why all the Nazi/German threads" the following: ************************************************** ********************************** John Mullen: US patriotism can look somewhat quaint and simplistic from a European perspective. Ironically, the preservation of freedom of expression is one of the things you can justly be somewhat proud of. I just wonder how many USAians actually understand what it means. ************************************************** *********************************** Most "USAians" are patriotic and justifiably so and know EXACTLY what the "preservation of freedom of expression" means. In other words, your comment is a bit of a troll (or a jab at Americans) and you know it, John. Reminds me of another telling comment from a UK bud who recently visited. I picked him at the airport and drove him back to my house for his week-long stay. Observing all the U.S. flags waving in the breeze up and down the neighborhood, the Brit blurts out something like, "Why does everyone fly the American flag?" Rather than snatch up his stinkbait by explaining the obvious and come back with something like, "well, if you have to ask..." I told him to ask my Hungarian neighbor who lives across the street the exact same question. My Hungarian friend, a meat-cutter at one of the local supermarkets, is old enough to have lived through the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and remained in Hungary until the early '70's when he finally immigrated to the U.S. He proudly flies Old Glory and also has several U.S. flag decals plastered on his late-model pickup truck. My bud from the UK never did bother to ask my Hungarian neighbor the question pertaining to "why all the U.S. flags everywhere?" and I wasn't about to waste my breath trying to explain it to him. You see, my UK pal simply didn't want to hear the answer -- especially not from some Hungarian whom could've provided a very poignant explanation to my cocky UK bud. Deep down, my UK pal knows damn good and well why Americans proudly pledge their allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands! And based on his VERY telling comment above regarding the UK's bygone glory days, Mr. Mullen also knows why as well. Like my UK bud who recently visited, Mr. Mullen's innocent display of "ignorance" as to why we cherish our flag is utterly transparent and it's obvious that he is simply jealous and resentful. |
#9
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With all respect Gordon, this sort of 'respecting the symbol of our nation'
is probably very hard for most Europeans to understand. I doubt if I could clear it up, but I grew up thinking that our flag stood for everyone on earth who wanted to live free. I know that time has proven this notion to be wrong, but I also know that 29 of my friends gave their lives in US Navy aircraft so that the rest of us could live ours in relative peace. I think that when folks have died under this banner of ours, for no other reason than to earn freedom for people in other nations, its a symbol to be held with pride. I know - impossible to explain what that flag means but it represents the freedom that all people deserve, to me. v/r Gordon ====(A+C==== USN SAR Aircrew "Got anything on your radar, SENSO?" "Nothing but my forehead, sir." |
#10
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"John Mullen" writes:
With all respect Gordon, this sort of 'respecting the symbol of our nation' is probably very hard for most Europeans to understand. Particularly this one, to whom the UK flag is a symbol of an Empire whose great days are behind it, the EU one a symbol of a dream whose time has not yet come, and the Saltire a symbol of a nation which sold itself out, or was sold out, a very long time ago. Just one of the factors which makes it hard for us to understand each other from the different sides of the Atlantic. Here's another way we differ. Take this: "I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America and to the principles for which it stands, one nation under law, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." Just as in the oath a federal employee takes ("support and defend the Constitution")... But the oath is to: not the President.... not the party in power... not the government.... but the Constitution itself. We take this for granted, but non-AmCits can have a hard time grasping that the Armed Forces are NOT loyal to the President... they are loyal to the document.... So? Well play alternate history. Suppose Nixon tried a coup when on the ropes. Where would the Army land? With the CinC of the moment...or the Constitution? Ask yourself that about Haiti, or Liberia, or most anywhere. In the Commonwealth, it's not even the nation's army -- it's Her Majesty's! -- A host is a host from coast to & no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433 is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433 |
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